Oatmeal is almost a perfect food, because it has fiber and a good amount of nutrients in the vitamin and mineral category and it makes your heart healthier just by eating it.
Oatmeal has soluble fiber – about 6 gm of fiber in 1 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal (3/4 cup uncooked). Soluble fiber lowers the amount of cholesterol that your body absorbs, and when you eat about 5-10 gm of soluble fiber per day you are getting a reduction in both total and LDL cholesterol. When you add fruit that has fiber (i.e. whole fruit not juice), you can add the additional fiber to get to 10 gm without much thought. A cut up apple or banana or strawberries taste yummy and don’t take away from the oatmeal.
Try eating the steel cut oats version, using a crock-pot to cook them overnight and make more than one serving so you can have the food ready for several days. You may find yourself eating it at night for your evening meal.
I know you read on the label of oatmeal that it lowers cholesterol, though, and I wanted to remind you of a couple other things oatmeal is good for.
1. It is a whole grain, so you get the same benefits of any whole grain product.
2. It improves your overall cholesterol as well as LDL cholesterol levels
3. It is a very filling breakfast and won’t leave you hungry in 10 minutes.
Oatmeal does contain both carbohydrate and protein, so be aware of the levels of each if you are watching those nutrients. But I must say that oatmeal for breakfast is the one thing I do well when I have to! I love the oatmeal I can buy in the Target store and I love the McDonald’s oatmeal. You can take your own to work if you don’t have enough time in the morning to get some things done – like eat breakfast. Take a packet with you and microwave it at work (or use the hot water spigot out of the shared coffee pot if you have one).
Speaking of time, you can check out our time saver for cardiac diets – you will wonder how you ever managed without the cardiac diet meal plan!
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